


Sleep Atend Thee All Through the Night

by Sirenwithlegs



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Brotherly Love, Childhood Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Has Issues, Gen, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Klaus Has Issues, Literal Sleeping Together, Nightmares, No Romance, Platonic Relationships, Sibling Love, This is brotherly relationships!, if this is read as Ben/Klaus I will steal all your spoons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 07:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18566674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirenwithlegs/pseuds/Sirenwithlegs
Summary: Klaus Hargreeves had heard stories of children that had nightmares. In those stories, they always ran to their mother or father and slept with them for the rest of the night. Klaus was a little scared of those kids. They had to be much braver than he ever could be to go to their father and request him to keep them safe for the night. Of course, those children also had mothers that didn't need to recharge at night. Either way, Klaus only had one person that he dared to disturb at night when the ghosts and nightmares got too loud.





	Sleep Atend Thee All Through the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee  
> All through the night  
> Guardian angels God will send thee  
> All through the night  
> Soft the drowsy hours are creeping  
> Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
> I my loving vigil keeping  
> All through the night
> 
> Jane Siberry

Klaus Hargreeves had heard stories of children that had nightmares. In those stories, the children always ran to their mother or father and slept with them for the rest of the night. Klaus was a little scared of those kids. They had to be much braver than he ever could be to go to their father and request him to keep them safe for the night. Of course, those children also had mothers that didn't need to recharge at night. Either way, Klaus only had one person that he dared to disturb at night when the ghosts and nightmares got too loud.

Klaus tiptoed down the hall holding his pillow. The dark was suffocating him in his room stealing away what little peace of mind he could lay claim to. Not even his fairy lights were bright enough to make him feel like he wasn't the only one alive. He finally reached the room he knew would be more welcoming. He pulled the door open and walked to the bed that held Ben in it. He was his favorite brother by far, actually, he was his favorite sibling hands down.

If it were any other sibling he wouldn't dream of climbing in and snuggling with them, but that was the best part of Ben. He didn't care half the time he was just as glad for the concrete reminder that he was safe. Klaus pulled the covers back slightly and eased in the bed. He adjusted his pillow comfortably. He didn't care that he was almost nine and was too old to do this anymore. Father was never pleased with anything he ever did.

"What are you doing?" Ben whispered.

"I'm going to jump off the roof. What do you think Ben? I'm sleeping with you tonight," Klaus said.

"Fine. Just keep your cold feet to yourself," Ben said. Klaus smiled, Ben didn't mind that he woke him up.

"Thanks, you're the best."

Ben fell asleep so Klaus was left with the sound of Ben's breathing. It was so nice to feel something warm, real, and alive. He drifted asleep finally feeling like he was safe from the spirits that haunted him.

Klaus knew that as long as Ben was there he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

* * *

The day of training was the same as all the others. It left Ben tired, achy, and revolted with the horror he had hidden within himself. He despised the smell of blood and sweat that clung to him no matter the number of showers he took. It didn't matter that he was in clean pajamas that smelled of the laundry detergent that Mom used. He closed his eyes and all he saw was red.

He tossed and turned, trying to do math, but that made him less sleepy. If it wasn't for the curfew he would turn on the lights and finish a book he had started. He was wondering how the book would end when he decided to go to Klaus's room.

There wasn't much hope of going to sleep when he was wide awake like this. He never could go to sleep on days of personal training. He got out of his bed and started to sneak down the hallway to Klaus's room.

He turned the knob and ran to Klaus's bed. He was thankful for the fairy lights that made it easy to see the Klaus sized lump on the bed. Ben quickly got into the bed and pulled the covers to his chin.

"Bad night?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah, sorry for bothering you," Ben replied.

"You're not bothering me. I like it when I know I'm not alone. The ghosts are always so loud at night."

"I'm sorry."

Klaus thumped the covers on Ben, "Don't apologize for stupid stuff that you can't control. You didn't ask for any of this."

"Sorry," Ben replied laughing.

* * *

Klaus sighed dramatically. He couldn't sleep. Insomnia was slowly becoming his second gift that was really a curse. Klaus fidgeted with his striped pajamas he wondered what other people did when they couldn't sleep.

He did what he always did.

"Hey Ben, you awake?"

"Yes, Klaus. Just get in," Ben replied sleepily.

"Thanks."

Klaus climbed in and settled in for the night beside his brother. They both could fit in the twin, but they didn't have much room to move about.

"One day I'm going to leave and be able to sleep all through the night. Dad's not going to be able to control anything I do. I can do whatever I want. No more personal training, ever."

"That sounds nice, Klaus. Take me with you, will you."

"I will. I couldn't leave without you. I'll open up an ice cream shop and you can be a Librarian. We'll do what we want, when we want, it's going to be awesome," Klaus said dreamily.

"I want to live like that," Ben replied.

* * *

Ben and Klaus met each other in the hallway when Five disappeared. They both were no stranger to the house being fraught with tension. This was different. Their father didn't seem to care that Five had disappeared for hours. They both knew that he didn't love them, but it was a reminder that he didn't care any of them.

"Mine or yours?" Ben asked.

"Mine," Klaus replied.

Ben followed Klaus back to his room where the fairy lights were still on. They got in bed and for once they couldn't think of anything to say to each other. Ben shifted a little after a few minutes the thin blankets already up to his chest while he pulled them up higher.

"If you left I would miss you," Ben said finally.

"I hope you don't leave. Five is probably going to come back soon. We'll all be together again. The Umbrella Academy is too popular for Five to disappear completely," Klaus reasoned. "Someone will find him and drag him back." 

"Yeah, I can't believe he stood up to Dad like that. He's really stupid sometimes," Ben said laughing.

"Yeah, he's probably hiding waiting until we all calm down. He's going to have to apologize that's going to be hilarious to see," Klaus said happy that he wouldn't have to be the one apologizing for once.

* * *

It had been years since Klaus went to Ben when he couldn't sleep. He just hadn't felt like he could ever miss him like he did. It was like parts of Klaus were missing and couldn't ever come back. There was no warm Ben that he could lay beside and fall asleep to the sound of his breathing. He was nice to be around that didn't expect or judge him when he told him things he wouldn't dare tell the others. 

Ben was dead. It was a stupid mission and now he was gone.

He followed him around and when he did drugs (which he kept a secret) (no one thought it was a secret) Ben lashed out and told him to stop. When Klaus couldn't sleep there wasn't anyone he could go to as a reminder that he was still alive.

Ben was a ghost and no one believed him. 

If Ben were alive he would believe Klaus saw one of his siblings' ghost.  

But that was the whole problem Ben was dead and Klaus had been hitting the hard drugs like there wasn't a tomorrow. No one believed him except for Ben and the drugs ruined the rest of his credibility. He wished he was eleven again and had the reassurance that his brother could provide and dreams of leaving the academy with Ben.

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a comment!


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